Finn LeMarinel

Finn LeMarinel is in good company. The sold out launch night for his EP ‘Love is Waves’ took place in the CCA in Glasgow at the end of April and saw support slots from surprise guest RM Hubbert and SAY 2015 nominee Kathryn Joseph. It was a night packed full of beautiful musicianship and heartfelt song.

The EP is Finn’s first with Glasgow based label Electric Honey and it hopefully won’t be his last, as the results have certainly proved fruitful from a musical perspective. Short but sweet, ‘Love is Waves’ is a collection of four songs showcasing Finn’s prowess for delivering music packed with aching honesty and raw beauty.

Finn’s opening lines, on first track ‘Become’, are bared with his trademark falsetto. It’s a melancholic and brittle opener with minimal instrumentation and a sombre tone. In ‘Safety’, the music shifts around, the guitar used percussively to create a syncopated beat before the song moves onto a lilting piano refrain. It’s beautifully rich in emotion and delivered as such.

The title track crosses Finn’s distinctive voice with a steady piano part which anchors the whole song down. With subtle instrumentation and lyrics which read like poetry, ‘Love is Waves’ is a gorgeous song proving Finn’s talents as a songwriter and musician.

Then it’s the final track ‘Mess Made’, which gives Finn a chance to show his talents on guitar. Percussive flair leads the song, but of course at the heart of it all is Finn’s vocals which are sincere, gentle and always sung with a depth far too often lacking from many singers.

Lines such as, “Take off your second skin it’s too thin for this” haunt the record, giving the EP a beauty and weight which will stay with you long after it’s finished playing. Love is Waves is a beautifully rich collection of songs with the power to stop you in your tracks and make you actually listen to what’s being sung, and when what’s being sung is delivered with the depth and beauty of the four tracks on here, that’s no bad thing.